


of snags and tangles

by teaspoonery (quodpersortem)



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-23
Updated: 2017-12-23
Packaged: 2019-02-19 04:28:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13116030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quodpersortem/pseuds/teaspoonery
Summary: (livejournal re-post fromhere; mine)rating: pg-13word count: 780when arthur has waited long enough, and uther has grown milder, merlin pushes him into a corner of his roomdate: 2011-02-09





	of snags and tangles

_It's strange_ , Arthur thinks – but this is long after. There’s a story before this, before how it starts.  
  
-  
  
There used to be this thing, where Merlin tripped and Arthur held him up, and when their eyes locked they would both shiver. They never talked about it.  
  
Whenever they chat, their eyes wander and their hands always find something to fumble with; especially Merlin is a master at this, drawing Arthur’s attention and making him wonder exactly what, and how, and when. Then he finds out Merlin never minded this, because, and these are his own words, his eyes will sometimes turn gold at the moment Arthur accidentally says something to make them both blush.  
  
This problem too gets solved eventually, because when Arthur has waited long enough, and Uther has grown milder, Merlin pushes him into a corner of his room, kisses him, and promptly locks the door on the other side of the room.  
  
-  
  
They travel after that, for years, though only once for a long time on end. They go to the roaring European lands, meet people who are off for a crusade and decide not to join in – Arthur supposes it is because Merlin wouldn’t fit in; religion and magic don’t match.   
  
They return when the message comes - Uther is ghastly ill and about to pass on.  
  
-  
  
Eventually, Arthur marries a lady that reminds him of Gwen. The real Gwen left Camelot decades before this happens. He becomes the king he supposes his father wanted him to be, except he can’t stop seeing Merlin.  
  
-  
  
There is a son. There is also a younger daughter, who shows an uncanny likeliness to a fellow Arthur once knew, with her dark hair and blue eyes and lanky limbs that make Arthur feel overly protective about her (although that fellow he knew is a man of his own age now, and survived pretty well).  
  
The son is angry. He, too, shows a likeliness to someone Arthur once knew- the boy Mordred. He notices the way Merlin looks at this boy, and it’s not with the adoration he looks at the daughter. Merlin seems to be wary of the boy, and once whispers “make her Queen of Camelot”.  
  
-  
  
When the boy leaves the castle without a word, of course Merlin is there to soothe Arthur. The Queen lets them, she knows instinctively, Arthur assumes. It’s the look in his eyes, though, it’s the deep-nestled wariness that makes Arthur suspect Merlin knows there is more to this than just the boy leaving at this tender age. He hasn’t come of age yet.  
  
And they are aging.  
  
-  
  
Arthur feels, for the first time in his life, fear in the pit of his stomach when his wife wakes him up one day, ten years later.   
He travels across the hills and through the valleys of Albion, all with Merlin by his side. When he hears the roar of a dragon, he doesn’t even pretend to be surprised anymore, and Merlin shrugs and laughs a little.   
  
When they stop he knows that this is the time, and though he’s sad, he also knows the heavy years show on his face in the shape of wrinkles and eyes that have gone pale, hair that’s turned grey.   
His son is grown-up and has an older man by his side, too. He recognises the features of the boy Merlin and Morgana smuggled into Camelot, all those years ago. It’s his own blood that strikes first however, that makes Arthur bleed and weaken.  
  
All the while he thinks about Merlin watching, circling above their heads on the back of a dragon. Neither of them will help now; magic can’t be used for bad causes nor for trivial matters such as a son turning against his father. The dragon thinks it’s destiny, Merlin’s voice in Arthur’s head agrees.  
  
He knows he will lose this fight, and for once he doesn’t mind – as long as he can get to his son again.  
He does. He gets to his son – who gets a sword wedged between his ribs and the blood gushes out along his harness. Arthur himself falls to his knees at the same moment, reaching his hands up for the heavens to the thundering laugh of Mordred.  
  
-  
  
Merlin eventually takes him to the lake, and as he lays Arthur down, a hand on his forehead, this is where Arthur thinks it is strange, that it’s odd he hasn’t realised that whenever Merlin is near him there is a sense of sadness – except right now. That it’s weird he hadn’t, even after all these years, realised Merlin must’ve known about this all along, and that Merlin will have to live with this thoughts for the centuries to come.  
  
~


End file.
